This report characterises the different reporting systems for tick-borne rickettsioses in EU/EFTA countries and identifies and assesses the current epidemiological situation of these diseases. It is the first attempt to collect existing data on rickettsioses in EU/EFTA countries.
Most of the cases of rickettsioses are reported from Italy, Portugal and Spain. In the most affected countries rickettsioses commonly occurred among males. The age distribution of cases was variable with cases among persons younger than 9 years and older than 60 years in Portugal and the older age group more affected in Spain.
In this paper, the authors present results produced by a two-year screening study on ticks from Sardinia for different tick-associated pathogens. They show that Rhipicephalus sanguineus is predominant and presents the most important diversity of pathogens, with its counterpart Rhipicephalus turanicus.